Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of Prime Time Palm Beach County is to improve the quality of school-age afterschool programs through assessment, guidance, and support.

Impact: Based on the 2009 study findings, Prime Time's Quality Improvement System resulted in improvements made to afterschool programs which enhanced quality programming and important developmental learning experiences for youth.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development, to prevent bullying, and to build the problem-solving abilities and other life skills required for positive relationships throughout students' lives.

Impact: One study found that PATH students performed significantly better than their counterparts on the sociometric tests for aggression and hyperactivity-disruptive behavior according to peer sociometric reports. The PATH classrooms also received better observer ratings for their overall classroom atmosphere.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Literacy, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: The mission of Reach Out and Read is to help prepare young children to succeed in school, by partnering with physicians to encouraging parents and children to read aloud together.

Impact: Reach Out and Read improves children's language development by 3-6 months and improves language ability with increased exposure to the program.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Other Conditions

Goal: The goal of this study is to determine how many Community Health Workers (CHW) would be needed to reduce emergency department (ED) visits and associated hospitalizations among their assigned patients to be cost-neutral from a payer's perspective.

Impact: This study adds significant knowledge to the existing literature on CHW programs, and particularly provides critical information to payers that can be used for making decisions on appropriate payment models

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to help families gain or increase parenting and family management skills that would facilitate successful child academic and social adjustment and, therefore, to promote social and academic competence and to lower risk for later antisocial behavior. In addition, the intervention concentrates on promoting initial academic success.

Impact: Children who received the intervention improved in overall reading ability at a more rapid rate than those who did not receive the intervention. In addition, SAFEChildren participants showed an improvement in concentration.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children

Goal: The goal of the program is to decrease school bullying problems by 1) increasing staff awareness and responsiveness, 2) fostering socially responsible beliefs, and 3) teaching social-emotional skills to counter bullying and promote healthy relationships. Thus the program also aims to promote skills (e.g., group joining, conflict resolution) associated with general social competence.

Impact: Students in the intervention schools reported significantly less acceptance of bullying/aggression, perceived greater adult responsiveness, and felt more responsible to intervene with friends who were bullied (bystander responsibility) than students in the control schools.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens, Families

Goal: The goals of this program are to (1) prevent teen substance abuse and other behavior problems; (2) strengthen parenting skills; and (3) build family strengths.

Impact: The evaluation demonstrated that youths who participated in the study had less substance use, fewer conduct problems, and better resistance to peer pressure and that program parents were better able to show affection and support and set appropriate limits for their children.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural

Goal: The SAAF program aims to prevent initiation of risk behaviors such as drug abuse, alcohol and cigarette use, and sexual activity in low-income African American preadolescents.

Impact: This program has helped create positive family interactions and support youth and teens as they take the next steps toward a positive future.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide parents with the necessary skills to improve their parent/child communication and overall family functioning.

Impact: STEP has been implemented in more than 1,000 schools, agencies, churches, and mental health treatment facilities since 1976, reaching more than 4 million parents. Outside the US, STEP has been implemented in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, and South Korea.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Family Planning, Teens

Goal: The goal of Talking Parents, Healthy Teens is to help parents improve their communication skills with their adolescent children, promote healthy adolescent sexual development, and reduce risky adolescent sexual behaviors.